The origins of the arabian nights arabian nights, more properly known as one thousand and one nights is a collection of middle eastern and south asian stories and folk tales, compiled in arabic during the islamic golden age. The book of the thousand nights and one night wikisource. One thousand and one nights is a collection of middle eastern folk tales compiled in arabic. With introduction explanatory notes on the manners and customs of moslem men and a terminal essay upon the history of the nights. Do we take these 21 originals and recreate the original book of 1001 nights tales that nielsen was working on back in 1919. The earliest reference to it is a collection of tales. Byatt, in british romantic poetry the arabian nights stood for the wonderful against the mundane, the imaginative against the prosaically and reductively rational.
The 1959 animated film 1001 arabian nights starring mr. The original concept is most likely derived from a preislamic iranian prototype that relied partly on indian elements, but the work as we have it was collected over many centuries by various authors, translators and scholars across the middle east and north africa. The story is one that many know, even if they have not read the book. The thousand and one nights, collection of largely middle eastern and indian. Jun 09, 20 lebanese author hanan alshaykh says it took her a while to fall in love with the legendary arab heroine.
I loved the original story and studied it story years ago for drama so was interested to see what would be made of this one. The arabian nights is a collection of tales from the islamic golden age, compiled by various authors over many hundreds of years though each collection features different stories, they are all centered around the frame story of the sultan shahrayar and his wife, scheherazade. Who, when and where was the thousand and one nights written. One thousand and one nights by hanan alshaykh goodreads. Im specifically interested in translations that are complete. One thousand and one nights is a collection of stories collected over thousands of years by various authors, translators and scholars in various countries. Literary themes and techniques from 1001 nights life. Some editions contain only a few hundred tales, while others include 1001 or more stories and nights.
The thousand and one nights anonymous 1001 books to. A short history 1001 arabian nights or the arabian nights and many other variations is a collection of folk tales from all over the early islamic world. It was introduced to european readers by the french scholar galland, who discovered the arabic original and translated it into french in the first decade of the eighteenth century. One thousand and one nights is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. At that point, although there is still a significant amount of diversity, we can trace surviving copies into two basic traditions, called syrian and. The book of the thousand nights and a night 1885, subtitled a plain and literal translation of the arabian nights entertainments, is an english language translation of one thousand and one nights the arabian nights a collection of middle eastern and south asian stories and folk tales compiled in arabic during the islamic golden age 8th. I just didnt like the actual story which isnt the authors fault. Margaret sironval received a phd in literature from the sorbonne, and was a researcher at the national center for scientific research cnrs in paris from 1981 to 2005. The question and answer section for the arabian nights. An introduction to the frame story in the essays muse, spare me and tales within tales within tales from the friday book, john barth expresses his admiration for the frame story of 1,001 nights. A retelling by hanan alshaykh retells 19 stories from the original tales that. The main characters of this classics, fiction story are. Books that currently have readers in progress can be viewed in bold type.
She retells scheherazades famous stories in a new translation of one thousand and one nights. Not only, depending on the version you read, is it long to incredibly long, but first you have to actually choose a version. But for the past two centuries in the west and now throughout the world, only the. She has published numerous articles and organized exhibitions on a thousand and one nights. Inspired by the exotic tales of the arabian nights, 1001 dark nights features new york times and usa today bestselling authors. Center for research libraries amazingly, none of these arabic versions included the story of aladdin, even though the books were tampered to begin with habicht faked his sources and his breslau edition was partly copied into. The influence of the nights on modern horror fiction is certainly discernible in the work of h. Aladdin and his wonderful lamp is a 1939 popeye the sailor cartoon. By signing up, youll get thousands of stepbystep solutions to your homework questions. Literary themes and techniques the one thousand and one nights and various tales within it make use of many innovative literary techniques, which the storytellers of the tales rely on for increased drama, suspense, or other emotions.
The arabian nights is not a book to be read in a week. The thousand and one nights is one of the great storybooks of the world. Kay nielsens a thousand and one nights taschen books. Its tales of aladdin, ali baba, and sindbad the sailor have almost become part of western folklore, though these were added to the collection only in the 18th century in european adaptations. Longlost watercolors of 1001 nights bring new life to age. Longlost watercolors of 1001 nights bring new life to. Arabian nights book of 1001 nights volume 1 anonymous, sir richard francis.
Try the oxford companion to childrens literatureby humphrey carpenter and mari prichard. Shahrazad haiku let me detain you for a thousand and one nights and so entertain. Jan 05, 2020 the book of the thousand nights and one night. Jan 09, 2009 one thousand and one nights is a collection of folk tales and other stories. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 982 pages and is available in paperback format. The one thousand and one nights and various tales within it make use of many innovative literary techniques, which the storytellers of the tales rely on for increased drama, suspense, or other emotions. I know there are several tales of 1001 arabian nights type translations that dont include all of the stories, but i want to be able to read them all. The thousand and one nights, collection of largely middle eastern and indian stories of uncertain date and authorship. Today, listening to the programs archives officially uploaded to youtube last year is a striking reminder of the many classic yet obscure tales that make up the vast corpus of 1001 nights. A completely original version of the arabian nights stories by awardwinning author geraldine mccaughrean. This period lasted from the eighth century to the thirteenth century, when much of the arabicspeaking world experienced a scientific, economic, and. No doubt written by a teenage gentleman schooled in pedantic poetry which is the part i liked with its flamboyant fluency. This collection of folk tales from the middle east was originally published in french in 1704. For this revised edition of the book of the thousand nights and one night all names of persons and places and all arabic words retained in the text have, where necessary, been compared with and corrected by macnaghtens calcutta edition of the original 1839 42.
This story probably did not appear in the west until the european translations, notably by antoine galland 1704 and 1717. The stories also retain some of the violent and cruel plots twists of the original. She is the author of the album of a thousand and one nights 2005 and a thousand and. A raunchy retelling of the old folk tale 1001 arabian nights. That said, every author and scholar of the nights does have his or her own weird ideas about the existence of the 1001 nights as a whole somewhere in the universe as a jumping off point for their own versions and articles and inquiries but they are all based on fantastic speculation, which may be just fine after all. In the main body of this book, muhsin mahdi, a prominent iraqiamerican islamologist, arabist and the author of a wellreceived critical edition of the stories, attempts to trace the true and very borgesian history of this now classical collection of stories from its first publication in french in europe in 1704 to the. Blood night krewe of hunters october 22, 2019 paperback, kindle. What is the best english translation of 1001 arabian nights. Like other medieval texts that are collections of tales, the work we know as arabian nights circulates in a lot of different manuscript forms. Free download or read online the arabian nights pdf epub book. As the object of the present translation was in the first place, and. The nights continued to be a favourite book of many british authors of the romantic and victorian eras. The rest of the world found out about these stories in.
Go by the author index, which is predominantly sorted by the authors last name. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 1049 pages and is available in paperback format. The original text was a long danish translation of the. Im curious to know which english translation of 1001 arabian nights is considered the best. Arabian nights stories by awardwinning author geraldine mccaughrean. Original book writing disney movie original author. These collections of tales trace their roots back to ancient arabia and yemen, ancient india, ancient persia, ancient egypt, ancient mesopotamian mythology, ancient syria. Oxford university press 1001 arabian nights 97801927506. This removes any questions about first name versus last name, etc. One thousand and one arabian nights oxford story collections geraldine. If you are only familiar with the arabian nights as a childrens book, as many westerners are, you are in for for some surprises. Lyons translation contains dismemberment, revenge sex, torture, castration, and at one point there is a wickedly funny faux seduction scene entirely consisting of sodomy themed poetry. The true title of the text we usually call the arabian nights is one thousand and one nights. The credited author in the text itself is scheherazade the wife of an arabian prince.
The book of a thousand nights and a night arabian nights, volume 01 anonymous, translated by richard francis burton 1821 1890 this is a collection of stories collected over thousands of years by various authors, translators and scholars. The book of the thousand nights and a night wikipedia. This series is a spin on the premise and creating new stories that a new scheherazade might tell. Ali baba and the forty thieves is one of the many stories found in the framed anthology 1001 arabian nights. Beth, of beths list love reading the arabian nights in not a simple proposition. Is there any story similar to aladdin and the wonderful lamp in this book.
Erotic, brutal, witty and poetic, one thousand and one nights are the. In the original scheherazade desperately attempts to entertain her husband, the king of persia, with nightly stories so that he will postpone her execution. One thousand and one nights is a collection of folk tales and other stories. Its clear from the structure of every story that shahrazad is telling them to king. This period lasted from the eighth century to the thirteenth century, when much of the arabicspeaking world experienced a scientific, economic, and cultural. The rules are the same as for the alphabetical book post. The book of the thousand nights and a night 1001 arabian nights also called the arabian nights. By the end of the 18th century, the book had 1001 stories. As a child, he was fascinated by the adventures recounted in the book, and he attributes some of his creations to his love of the 1001 nights. Welcome to 1001 dark nights a collection of novellas that are breathtakingly sexy and magically romantic. Egyptian actress zouzou nabil 19201996, who gained fame as the voice of shahrazad on radio. Some of these date back to earlier persian, indian and arabic literature, while others were original to the one thousand and one nights.
The arabian nights entertainments by andrew lang free ebook. May 04, 2009 that said, every author and scholar of the nights does have his or her own weird ideas about the existence of the 1001 nights as a whole somewhere in the universe as a jumping off point for their own versions and articles and inquiries but they are all based on fantastic speculation, which may be just fine after all. I know there are several tales of 1001 arabian nights type translations that dont include all. In order to delay her inevitable execution, queen shaharazad tells her murdering husband, king shahryar, a wonderfully exciting story every night. The arabian nights is a magnificent collection of ancient tales told by the sultana scheherazade, who relates them as entertainment for her jealous and murderous husband, hoping to keep him amused and herself alive. Pdf the arabian nights book by anonymous free download. The arabian nights translated by richard francis burton.
Arabian nights a history of one thousand and one nights. A plain and literal translation of the arabian nights entertainments, now entituled the book of the thousand nights and a night. Scheherazade, the storyteller, determined to delay her death since her husbands plan has been to. The first edition of the novel was published in 800, and was written by anonymous. I suppose it to be an inside joke about the virility of black african lovers and the romantic antics of females.
The story of the merchant and the genius the story of the first old man and of the hind the story of the second old man and of the two black dogs the story of the fisherman the story of the. The main characters of this classics, fiction story are dunyazad, shahryar. I started with the very good wikipedia summary of the history of the collection and translation of. Lebanese author hanan alshaykh says it took her a while to fall in love with the legendary arab heroine.
Arabian nights, more properly known as one thousand and one nights is a collection of middle eastern and south asian stories and folk tales, compiled in arabic during the islamic golden age. Some editions contain only a few hundred nights, while others include 1001 or more nights. The original classics illustrated and millions of other. The earliest known manuscript is from the 14th or 15th century. Despite not being part of the original arabic text of the book of one thousand and one nights the arabian nights it is one of the best known tales associated with that collection.